Friday Night Lights Star Reveals They’ve Been Asked Back for Reboot

Following on the heels of the Friday Night Lights reboot being confirmed at Peacock, original series star Taylor Kitsch revealed on SiriusXM’s The Spotlight with Jessica Shaw that he has “been asked, and we’ll leave it at that” about the reboot. Kitsch played Tim Riggins on the original Emmy Award-winning series, which ran on NBC for five seasons between 2006-2011. The actor said he was asked “to be part of some kind of reboot” but added that he wasn’t interested in leading the revival series. He would prefer to “come in and do something … maybe for an episode or something.”

When Kitsch was asked about the possibility of playing a new character in the revival, he thought the idea “could be fun” but noted, “I think if you saw me as someone else, you’d be like, ‘That’s Riggins.’” His idea for a Riggins cameo leans more towards maybe playing “an opposing team’s coach or something and be on-screen for like eight seconds. I would do that.”

The Friday Night Lights reboot hails from original series creator Peter Berg, showrunner Jason Katims, and executive producer Brian Grazer. The official description for the new series reads: “Following a devastating hurricane, a ragtag high school football team and their damaged, interim coach make an unlikely bid for a Texas high school state championship, becoming a beacon of light for their town.”

Kyle Chandler, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of Coach Eric Taylor, said in 2015 that he was not interested in any Friday Night Lights reboot or spinoff. He told Entertainment Weekly at the time: “It ended so well, it ended beautifully. And I was more than happy for it to end when it did, because you couldn’t have gone much further.”

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Kitsch reunited with Berg on the new Netflix limited series American Primeval. Directed and executive produced by Berg and written by creator Mark L. Smith, the official logline for the series reads: “This is America…1857. Up is down, pain is everywhere, innocence and tranquility are losing the battle to hatred and fear. Peace is the shrinking minority, and very few possess grace — even fewer know compassion. There is no safe haven in these brutal lands, and only one goal matters: survival. American Primeval is a fictionalized dramatization and examination of the violent collision of culture, religion, and community as men and women fight and die to keep or control this land.”

American Primeval will begin streaming on Netflix on Thursday, January 9, 2025. The original Friday Night Lights series is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.